Someone recently asked me, “Anna, how you, a scientist, became interested in hypnosis?” And I thought, “Maybe some of my subscribers would like to know this story too.”
I first became interested in hypnosis when I became determined to free myself from a life-long speech impediment- stuttering. At that point, I was grasping at straws. Hypnosis was my last resort.
I was so surprised when in hypnosis sessions I realized that my core issue was not stuttering but a deeply buried fear of being my true self.
This fear turned out to be like a Russian nested doll. Inside of it, were fear of abandonment, fear of rejection, grief from losing people I loved, guilt and shame from not living up to other people’s expectations, fear of success, envy, resentment and a sense of unworthiness.
This is why trying to solve stuttering through speech therapy never worked for me, since it left all these underlying issues untouched.
Interestingly, once the original master fear with all its lesser fear minions was resolved, not only this previously quite severe stuttering was reduced to slight (and even charming) occasional hesitations but it stopped holding me back. I became a speaker, performer, educator and a hypnotherapist!
It was like a miracle. Something which was so huge and menacing, which dominated my life, became a source of my strength and personal power.
Today, I can empathize with my clients, because I’ve been through emotional struggles. I know what it is like to be constantly busy, stressed and overwhelmed with responsibilities.
I had my share of worries and insecurities.
I know what it’s like to compulsively people please, be afraid to speak up, lie to myself and hide my pain or run away from it and keep giving my power away. I had my share of heartbreaks and failed relationships, because of this.
By the way, it is called “suffering from a condition of being human” and we all are dealing with it in our own way.
Today, my past struggles allow me to confidently offer my hypnotherapy services knowing that hypnosis works fast and allows people to experience natural and effortless relief.
I have a deep trust that hypnotherapy has a tremendous potential to change lives and in some cases to save lives. It is rooted in ancient healing circles and works through human connections. What is best, today it is a serious, legal, scientifically validated approach which continues gaining popularity. And this is a good news, because as more and more people begin to use hypnosis we have more and more opportunity to improve our condition of being human and make it easier, happier and much more fulfilling.